


The Prince and the Merman

by mariothellama



Category: Football RPF
Genre: A very very happy ending, AU - Fairy Tale Retelling, Comfort and Consolation, Erik is a prince of the merpeople, Falling In Love, Fantasy, Finding your one true love, Heartbreak and Pain, I'll give it away now - they all live happily ever after, M/M, Magic, Some humour, The Sorceress of the Sea is kind of Erik's fairy godmother, True Love's First Kiss, bittersweet elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 02:32:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11152383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariothellama/pseuds/mariothellama
Summary: This is a reimagining of The Little Mermaid, the Hans Christian Andersen version not the Disney version. Erik is Prince of the Merpeople. And Marco is ... well you'll have to read it to find out.It isn't exactly fluffy and there are some bittersweet moments. But most importantly: 1. Nobody is evil in this story 2: This is a story about true love 3. It has a very, very happy ending and they all live happily ever after.





	The Prince and the Merman

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Blue_Night](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Night/gifts), [GoForGoals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoForGoals/gifts).



> My dearest Blue_Night and GoForGoals
> 
> This is for you, a friendship gift, you can probably guess at some of the things that brought this idea into my head. I haven't written a pure Durmeus story for a while, probably not since your birthday fics, and I know that you both like a non-fluffy story with a very happy end from time to time.
> 
> I borrowed your Mathilda to be my Sorceress of the Sea, Blue_Night, she floated into my head along with the rest of the story and I hope you approve of what I have done with her.

The kingdom of the land and the kingdom of the sea lived together in perfect harmony. Oceania was ruled over by King Jürgen of the merpeople, while Terra Firma was governed by good King Sebastian. A deep sea lake with flat, sandy shores provided a gathering place where the two kings and their advisers met to discuss matters that concerned their subjects or just to share the common burden of being responsible for the wellbeing of their peoples.

Whenever the galleon that served as the royal flagship crossed the territory of the merpeople, it was given a guard of honour by the mermen and merwomen. These beautiful and graceful beings swam around the ship in intricate, elegant patterns and all the ship’s crew marvelled at the wonder before them. It was considered a great privilege to see the merpeople swimming in formation like this.

The king was getting older now and travelled less, so his place was usually taken by his son and heir, Prince Jonas. Prince Jonas was as kind as he was handsome, with a smile whose warmth outshone that of the sun’s rays. Everybody loved him, including Prince Erik, the youngest son of the King of the Merpeople. Erik followed the royal galleon as often and for as long as he could, swimming gracefully in its wake, while the prince with the kind eyes and soft, brown hair leant over the side to talk to him. For Prince Erik loved Prince Jonas even more than the rest of his people and in a different way.

Erik had reached his twenty-fifth year of life, he was finally an adult in the world of the merpeople and it was time for him to take a life partner. But none of the eligible mermen or merwomen held any attraction for him. He had eyes and a heart for one and one alone – Prince Jonas.

He sat on a rock one afternoon, looking sadly down at his long, elegant tail, which glittered silver highlighted with flecks of rose-gold as it floated in the blue-green sea. Erik knew that others thought he was handsome, with fine, regular features and a strong, broad upper body. And he was one of the most graceful and accomplished of all the merpeople, who could flow through the water like a dancer effortlessly executing the most complex choreography. But today he hated his tail, his tail that kept him imprisoned in the sea and kept him apart from Prince Jonas.

Suddenly the waters of the sea began to boiled and roil before him. Something was rising from the ocean, the figure of a woman, pale, with dark hair and dark eyes. She wore a corset of the finest red coral filigree. Her skirts billowed out around her and were made from the sea itself, which appered almost black as they swirled round her, twinkling with living sea creatures, with starfish and seahorses, with fish and tiny octopuses.

‘M-M-M-Mathilda, Sorceress of the Sea,’ stammered Erik, ‘I thought that you were a myth!’

‘No, Prince Erik. I am very real and I am here to help you find your way to your heart’s desire, to your true destiny, to your prince, if that is what you wish for.’

‘Of course that’s what I want. But how?’

‘I can make you human. I can transform your mertail into human legs. You will be as tall and graceful as a human as you are elegant and supple as a merman.’

‘Ooooooh,’ was all that Erik could say.

‘But there will be a price to pay, there always is. The price for your perfect human legs will be that every single step you take will be agonising, it will feel as if you are walking on red hot coals every minute of the day. But that is a small price to pay for true love, is it not?’

Erik thought for a moment and yes, Prince Jonas was worth the sacrifice. So he nodded, his throat too dry to speak his agreement out loud.

Mathilda had looked fierce and forbidding until now, but her face softened at Erik’s answer and her eyes were kind.

‘I knew that you would feel that way, Prince Erik. And the price may not be as high as you think. You have twenty-four hours, from one sunrise to the next. If you have captured the heart of your prince by the second sunrise, you will be able to remain human forever and the pain will be gone. But should you fail to win the heart of your one true love, then you will still remain human, but will be forever exiled from the kingdom of Oceania, accompanied by the pain in your heart and the pain in your body every step you take for the rest of your life.’

Erik looked sombre. He loved his home and his people and his family. But he loved his prince even more and he would do whatever it took for them to be together.

‘Should you choose to accept my bargain, swim to the edge of the sea lake that is the meeting place between your peoples at sunrise tomorrow. Your twenty-four hours will begin when you take your first step onto dry land.’

The sea rolled and swelled at the Sorceress of the Sea sank back into the water, leaving Erik alone with his thoughts. He spent a disturbed night, tossing and turning in his watery hammock, unsure if he was making the right decision or not. But his mind was made up shortly before dawn, as he said farewell to his home and swam to the sea lake.

He hesitated as he approached the sandy shores of the lake. Taking a deep breath, he lifted himself out of the water onto Terra Firma, half expecting it all to have been a dream and to fall to the ground, sliding back into the sea where he belonged as soon as he tried to stand up. But there was a flash of magic as the tip of his tail touched the sand for the first time and he looked down to see that he was now standing on long, elegant legs that seemed to go on forever.

As attractive as his new legs were, Erik realised that he had forgotten something important. He was standing there completely naked. He couldn’t go to the royal palace like this.

A silvery voice floated out of the water. ‘You need not worry, Prince Erik. As lovely and as mouthwatering as you look like this, as naked as the day you were born, you need to be dressed appropriately to meet your prince. Good luck!’

Another flash of magic rippled through his body, clothing him in the finest silk that shimmered blue and green like the sea, perfectly complementing the colour of his eyes and his smooth, pale skin.

His confidence boosted, Erik took his first step on slightly wobbly legs. The pain almost drove him to his knees, but he persevered, taking step after step, pushing the pain to the back of his mind, focusing instead on his prince, on his true love, who would make all of this suffering worth it. And tomorrow they would be together, united in love, and the pain would be gone forever, Erik was quite sure of that.

He reached the gates of the royal palace. The guards recognised him as Prince Erik of the Merpeople at once, even if they were astonished to see him walking on dry land, and he was taken straight to Prince Jonas.

Jonas’s face lit up as he saw him. ‘Erik! It’s a pleasure to see you. Welcome to my kingdom. But what …? How …?’ He gestured at Erik’s legs.

Erik had prepared an answer to this question and he told Jonas that this was a special gift from the Sorceress of the Sea to mark his twenty-fifth birthday, that he could spend twenty-four hours on dry land and that he had chosen to spend them with Jonas, if the Prince of Terra Firma agreed.

‘Of course,’ replied Jonas, his smile and the light in his eyes soothing Erik’s pain to nothing, ‘let me show you my palace and my city. And tonight we can dance together at the palace ball.’

That day was the happiest in Erik’s life so far. He spent every minute of it with Prince Jonas, talking about anything and everything. They walked together in the rose garden and Jonas picked a perfect pink rose and handed it to Erik, telling him that it was only half so beautiful as the pink blush on the merprince’s cheeks. Erik barely felt the pain as he walked anymore because his heart was so full of joy.

And the ball was beyond Erik’s wildest dreams. The palace ballroom was lined with mirrors that reflected the candlelight from the crystal chandeliers and the bright silks and satins of the dancing courtiers. But Erik only had eyes for his prince. They opened the ball together, swirling gracefully across the dancefloor as if they were destined to be in one another’s arms, which of course they were.

Erik felt no pain at all anymore, only bliss. Jonas had to fulfil his royal duties, but he danced with Erik as often as he could. The merprince was as graceful on land as he had been in the sea, just like the Sorceress of the Sea had promised him.

It was approaching midnight when Erik pulled Jonas onto the balcony, wanting to be alone with him. He could just catch a glimpse of the moon glinting on the sea from here. He missed his watery home, but once he and Jonas were together they could sail out on the royal galleon and he could see his people again, his parents, his brothers and sisters.

Erik turned to face Jonas, who looked more handsome than ever in the moonlight. He wrapped his arms round his prince’s neck, feeling Jonas wind his arms round his waist. Erik closed his eyes, leaning in for true love’s first kiss, feeling the warmth of Jonas’s breath on his skin, longing to feel their lips touch for the very first time.

But suddenly Erik felt cold and alone. His eyes flew open to see Jonas standing before him, looking sad and guilty.

‘W-w-w-w-what?’ Erik asked, feeling confused and broken.

‘I am so sorry, Erik. It’s all my fault. Today has been wonderful. I think part of me has been in love with you since I first saw you when I was still a small boy.

But I never thought that a beautiful, magical merprince like you could ever love a mere mortal like me. And I have already given my heart. To my princess. Tonight was to have been the ball at which we announced our engagement. But, since you were here, she agreed to postpone it so that you could be our guest of honour instead.

If my heart was not already promised to another, it would be yours, Erik. But I have. And I am a man of my word.’

Erik realised that Jonas was no longer looking at him, but over his shoulder. The merprince turned round slowly, afraid of what he would see. And what he saw was Jonas’s radiant princess standing at the top of the stairs, long dark hair flowing down her back in a tumble of curls. And he saw the love in her eyes. And he saw the answering love in Jonas’s eyes. Jonas hadn’t just given his word, he had truly given his heart.

Erik summoned every last drop of courage left in his body. None of this was Jonas’s fault and Erik’s stupidity should not be allowed to cast the slightest shadow on the prince’s happiness.

‘I am so happy for you both. Today was perfect and I will remember it for the rest of my life. But go now and be with your princess. Announce your engagement. Proclaim your love to the world. It is too precious to be hidden for one moment longer.’

He saw the relief in Jonas’s eyes. He felt his heart break as Jonas leaned in to place a chaste kiss on his cheek, the soft touch of his lips the most blissful and the most painful caress Erik had ever felt.

Somehow, he knew not how, he stayed on his feet as Jonas went to his princess, taking her by the hand to lead her into the ballroom. And then Erik sank to the ground, the pain suddenly overwhelming. He tried to get up again, but he couldn’t, it was all too much.

Erik tore off his shoes, he had never worn shoes before and he couldn’t bear the feel of them torturing his feet for one moment longer. But what he saw shocked him even more. His feet were bleeding, his shoes were full of blood, which dripped grotesquely onto the white tiled floor of the balcony. They must have been bleeding the whole time he had been gliding round the ballroom in Jonas’s arms, but he had been too happy to feel the pain.

Now there was no way that he could bring himself walk again and he was trapped on this balcony with no way off it. He wanted to see the sea again, to smell the salt of the sea air once more. Above all he wanted Jonas never to see him like this. And so Erik cried. Not from the pain, but with shame and grief and loss.

It took a few minutes before Erik realised that he was not alone. One of the prince’s attendants stood respectfully by the ballroom door. He was tall and slim, dressed in black velvet from head to toe and his hair shone like a golden halo in the moonlight.

‘Forgive the intrusion, your highness, but may I?’

Erik nodded miserably and the unknown man knelt down beside him with a basin of cool water. He gently bathed Erik’s feet, turning the water crimson with the merprince’s blood. And then he tenderly spread a soothing salve all over Erik’s red, raw feet before bandaging them with the softest of linens. His touch was comforting and reassuring and Erik felt a flicker of hope sparking in his heart again.

To Erik’s great surprise, his good Samaritan came back after discretely disposing of the evidence of Erik’s ravaged feet, sitting down on the ground beside him, not saying a word, just keeping him company. And that was why Erik felt able to tell him the whole story, leaving nothing out.

The golden-haired man sad nothing, just asked one single question. ‘What do you want to do now?’

‘I need to get away from here. And I would love to be by the sea again. But I don’t think I can walk one more step.’

‘You don’t need to. I will carry you.’

The golden-haired man picked Erik up, carrying him down the three flights of outside stairs that led down from the balcony so that nobody would see the Prince of the Merpeople like this. And then he carried him out of the palace. Erik’s rescuer stumbled a couple of times and the merprince worried that he was too heavy for his new hero, but the unknown man never let him fall, never put him down even for a second.

Erik felt no pain anymore, he felt almost relaxed. It felt good being held like this, being held safe and secure in strong arms. He leant his head against his rescuer’s shoulder, his nose buried in the crook of his neck. He smelled good. And maybe Erik imagined it, but he could have sworn that he felt a light kiss brush against his hair as he drifted off to sleep.

He awoke on the beach, lying on the sand, the golden-haired man sitting beside him.

‘You have already done so much for me, but will you … will you stay with me until the sun rises? I don’t want to be alone.’

‘Of course, Prince Erik. I will never leave you alone unless you wish it.’

They sat on the beach and talked under the intimate cover of darkness, bathed in the silvery light of the moon and surrounded by the soothing sounds and smell of the sea.

‘You know all about me,’ Erik said, ‘but I know nothing about you. Tell me about yourself.’

The golden-haired man sighed. ‘Like you, I love the sea. It was my home too, the only place I ever wanted to be. I come from a family of minor provincial nobility and I was an officer on the royal flagship. But there was an accident one day. I was injured rescuing members of my crew. And so I had to give up my dream. I could never go to sea again. But Prince Jonas is a good and kind man and he gave me a place in his royal household.’

‘You’re injured and still you carried me,’ Erik’s voice was filled with wonder and humility.

The man shrugged. ‘You were in pain, my prince. Your pain was greater than mine. I couldn’t bear to see you suffer like that. And I know exactly what it’s like to long to be by the sea. Now why don’t you try to rest for a bit, Prince Erik, there are still a couple of hours to go before daybreak.’

Erik thought that he would be unable to sleep, but sleep he did, rocked into slumber by the swelling of the waves and the strong arms of the golden-haired man holding him. He woke as the first rays of the morning sun spread across the surface of the sea. But something else was disturbing the surface of the water. A figure was rising out of it, a long watery train full of colourful sea creatures flowing behind her.

‘M-M-M-M-Mathilda. What are you doing here?’

‘You really need to stop stammering every time you try to say my name, Prince Erik. I’m not that scary. Now stand up.’

‘I can’t. It hurts too much. I can’t stand or walk ever again. I am like this forever now the sun has risen. I failed to capture the heart of my prince. I will lie here on the sand until I die. My only hope is that perhaps I will be able to see my family one last time, that they will come to me, to let me apologise for what I have done. That’s why I was so desperate to come back to the sea.’

‘Trust me, Erik. Stand up. You can.’ It was hard to resist the note of command in Mathilda’s voice, but she wasn’t taking any chances. ‘Take his hand, Lord Marco.’

The golden-haired man held out his hand to Erik and together they stood up. Erik braced himself to feel the pain in his feet, but he felt nothing. He took a step forward and still there was no pain.

‘W-w-w-w-what? H-h-h-h-h-how?’

‘We really are going to have to do something about this stammering, Erik. Now and again it is adorable, but it is starting to become annoying,’ Mathilda said in exasperation, flicking a rogue strand of seaweed from her dress.

‘But I will answer your questions, even if they were rather inarticulately posed. Do you really think that I would curse you to a life of pain as a human forever? I only told you that to make you think seriously about what you were doing, to make you believe in the magic. Not only would I never do something as cruel as that, but I hate to think what King Jürgen would do to me if I did that to his beloved youngest son. I may be the Sorceress of the Sea, but I really don’t want to start a war with the King of the Merpeople.’

‘But?’ Erik pointed at his feet, trying really hard not to stutter this time.

‘Well a price had to be paid. Magic always comes at a cost, especially love magic, even if the pain and the suffering only lasted for twenty-four hours. And it worked, didn’t it? You found your prince and captured his heart. Actually his heart was yours all along, wasn’t it Lord Marco?’

The golden-haired man, who Erik knew was now Lord Marco, smiled at him. And it was the most glorious smile that Erik had ever seen. It was lightly lopsided, but it lit up his whole face, not to mention Erik’s entire world. His eyes danced in a myriad of colours, like the sun playing across the surface of the sea.

‘Yes, Prince Erik, the Sorceress of the Sea is right. I used to watch you from the royal flagship when the merpeople came to greet us. You were so full of life and joy, so graceful and beautiful, you were the most wonderful being I had ever seen. And I loved you from the very first moment I set eyes on you. But tonight I fell in love with the real you, not just the magical Prince Erik of the Merpeople, but Erik, the wonderful, broken, loving, hopeful Erik

Mathilda smiled smugly. ‘You see, Erik, magic and destiny work in mysterious ways. The spell did lead you to your prince, even if not exactly how you expected. And Marco is indeed your prince, truly noble in heart and soul. What could be more noble than carrying the man he loved, although he himself was hurting, simply because you were in more pain.

And now, I believe that a kiss is customary on these occasions. True love’s first kiss to be precise. Just to make sure that we’ve all got this right before we go any further.’

Erik felt a little self-conscious at having to kiss his one true love under Mathilda’s stern gaze, but she seemed pretty insistent. And he forgot that she was there as Marco’s lips met his, as he felt everything he had waited all his life to feel flooding through him. He could have gone on kissing Marco for hours, but Mathilda cleared her throat after a few minutes, reminding them she was still there.

Erik looked into Marco’s eyes, stroking his cheek for the first time. ‘We have both had to give up a life on and in the sea, but we are together. It was worth it. It was worth giving up my life as a merman to be with you.’

Mathilda coughed again and they turned round to look at her. ‘I’m sorry to ruin this romantic moment, but it doesn’t have to be like that, not if you don’t want it to be. It’s your choice. You can live a life together as humans. Or Marco can live with you in the kingdom of Oceania, as a merman. He has always loved the sea. And as a merman he will be whole and healed again and will never feel a single second of pain for the rest of his very long and happy life.’

Erik narrowed his eyes. ‘And the catch is?’

Mathilda laughed. ‘You are learning, my prince. There is no catch this time. You have already paid the price. You paid the price with your own blood, which is strong magic.’

The two lovers looked at each other. ‘It has to be your decision, Marco. I already made my choice to be human to find my prince and I can live with it forever that if it’s what you want.’

Marco just shook his head. ‘There is no decision to make. To live a life with you in the sea, to be healthy and whole again. That is my dream.’

The sorceress smiled again. ‘Good. I have to stay neutral in these matters, it comes with the job, but you made the right decision. Now if the two of you would just step into my watery train and follow me back into the sea, that will be enough for me to perform the necessary transformation. I just need to explain to King Jürgen what I did to his beloved son. I think he might shout and wave his arms about a bit at first until he calms down.’

‘Your father!’ Marco suddenly looked hesitant. ‘You are a prince, a merprince. And I am only a human, a minor noble. What if your family refuse to accept me?’

‘Oh don’t worry about that,’ Mathilda reassured them, ‘Jürgen is going to love you. And he’ll be putty in your hands once he hears that perfect romantic story about you carrying Erik all that way in your arms, even though you are injured yourself. Actually I am kind of relying on that to stop him from shouting at me too much. King Jürgen and I have known each other for a long time now.’

Of course Mathilda was right. King Jürgen ranted a bit, causing a minor underwater earthquake, but he soon calmed down once he saw how much Erik and Marco loved each other and realised that Mathilda had only interfered to help his son to find his one true love. Erik and Marco lived happily ever after in the kingdom of Oceania. And Mathilda was true to her word, Marco never felt a moment of pain again as long as he lived. He and Erik swam often together alongside the royal flagship, and became friends with Prince Jonas and his beloved princess.

Since Prince Jonas was a good man with a kind heart, he often arranged for Marco’s family to be on board the royal galleon so that they could see Marco in his life as a merman. And, with just a little bit of help from Mathilda and her magic, one day they might even have seen a flock of adorable little merbabies swimming beside Erik and Marco.

The kingdom of the land and the kingdom of the sea lived together happily ever after in perfect harmony, made even stronger by the blessed union between Prince Erik and Lord Marco and their friendship with Prince Jonas and his beautiful princess.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'd originally been going to make the Prince of Terra Firma someone else and a bit nastier, but it just didn't feel right. And since the last picture I saw of Erik was at Jonas's wedding celebration, looking very handsome even if there was a bit too much pink going on, it just seemed to fit.


End file.
